ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The College of Saint Benedict track and field team has wasted little time establishing momentum in 2025–26.Three meets into the indoor season, the Bennies have piled up event titles, a school record and nationally ranked marks.

Now, for the third time in four weeks, they return home for the CSB+SJU Valentines Day Open on Saturday, Feb. 14, inside the friendly confines of the Donald McNeely Spectrum in Collegeville. Click here for live stats. 

Field events and the opening 5,000 meters begin at 10:30 a.m., with Concordia-Moorhead, Jamestown (N.D.), Minnesota-Morris, MSU Moorhead, Southwest Minnesota State and St. Cloud State set to compete. 

Directed by veteran head coach Robin Balder-Lanoue, Saint Benedict has blended record-breaking newcomers with seasoned veterans in a balanced early-season surge. 

Fast Start in Season Opener

The Bennies opened the indoor campaign Jan. 24 in dominant fashion, winning 11 events, recording 26 top-three finishes and scoring 256 team points to run away from the field. St. Scholastica (72) and UW-Superior (51) trailed far behind.

First-year Juslene Chea (St. Michael, Minn.) immediately made her presence known. In her collegiate debut, she won the 60-meter hurdles in 9.13 — the second-fastest time in program history and a mark that currently ranks among the top 35 in NCAA Division III. She added another title in the triple jump (10.60m). 

Senior Lauren Berg (Bemidji, Minn.) continued her decorated career with her 22nd career victory, winning the 400 meters while leading a 1-2-3 sweep alongside first-years Taylor Dean (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Macy Piechowski (Winona, Minn.). 

In the field, senior Jaylyn Ahlberg (Shoreview, Minn.) claimed the pole vault (3.26m), junior Drea Terwedo (LeSueur, Minn.) won the high jump (1.54m), and junior Sabriya Farquharson (Nassau, Bahamas) opened her season with a long jump victory (5.08m). Sophomore Allison Banse (Mankato, Minn.) paced the throws with a shot put win. 

On the track, sophomore Anna Gries (Minneapolis, Minn.) captured the 60-meter dash, while sophomore Allee Feldman (Buffalo, Minn.) and first-year Tiffany Dean (Hutchinson, Minn.) went 1–2 in the 200 meters. First-year Daphne Grobstein (Golden Valley, Minn.) earned her first collegiate win in the 800, and senior Mary Kenney (Saint Paul, Minn.) secured her fourth career victory in the 3,000.

Record Falls at Home 

Six days later at the CSB+SJU Invitational, Chea raised the bar even higher. 

The first-year broke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles, winning in 9.11 to eclipse the previous mark of 9.12. The performance marked her second straight victory and moved her up the national Division III list. CSB finished second as a team with 123 points, highlighted by four event titles and 22 top-four finishes.

Junior Taylor Radaich (Prior Lake, Minn.) won the 1,000 meters (3:13.77), while Kenney ran a personal-best 5:27.90 to finish second in the mile. Junior Anabella Witschen (Monticello, Minn.) and sophomore Mollie Ping (Winona, Minn.) also placed among the top five in the mile. 

In the relays, Berg, Tiffany Dean, Taylor Dean and Piechowski finished second in the 4x400, with another CSB quartet close behind. 

The field events continued to deliver depth. Sophomore McKenna Flinn (Redwood Falls, Minn.) won the pole vault (3.38m), with Ahlberg and junior Lili Raidt (Waconia, Minn.) also placing among the top four. Farquharson and first-year Hannah Scharnberg (Fergus Falls, Minn.) went 1–2 in the triple jump, while sophomore Allison Banse (Mankato, Minn.) added a runner-up finish in the shot put.

Momentum at the Gopher Classic

The Bennies' upward trajectory continued at the Gopher Classic at the University of Minnesota Fieldhouse, where the Bennies recorded 16 top-eight finishes against strong competition.

Farquharson delivered a standout afternoon in the horizontal jumps, placing second in the long jump (5.39m) — currently ranked among the top 65 nationally — and third in the triple jump (11.19m), a mark that sits among the top 35 in Division III this season. 

CSB dominated the collegiate 4x400-meter relay, sweeping the top two spots. The winning team of Berg, Taylor Dean, Tiffany Dean and Piechowski  clocked a season-best 4:15.25. The runner-up relay featured Witschen, senior Brooke Verkinnes (Saint Cloud, Minn.), Radaich and first-year Lydia Knight (Sartell, Minn.).

Chea remained steady in the hurdles with a 9.13 finish, while also contributing in the long and triple jumps. Banse recorded a season- and indoor career-best 12.19m in the shot put. In the distance events, Kenney posted a season-best in the collegiate 3,000, and junior Abby Bufkin (Colorado Springs, Colo.), senior Rachel Olinger (Rosemount, Minn.) and senior Tatum Leibke (Lino Lakes, Minn.) all turned in strong efforts in the 3,000.